Whodunnit: Murders of a Red Herring, Episode 1: Flaming Tension
Start The 17 guests arrive for a special week stay at an old amusement park. They soon retire for the night after guest Nico Hycanithus freaks out and flees from the dinner table. Late in the night, a boom wakes the guests from their sleep. Rushing to the living room, they see Nico's body on fire, lying just in front of a blazing furnace, burning. The Crime Scene After being told about the basic game by Giles, their supervisor, Jesse, Lori, Jason, Neveah, Samantha, Toby and Teresa travel to the crime scene, the living room and furnace. They discover a little blood on the floor and in the fireplace, but not enough to suggest that the flame was the killer. It also is noticed that Nico must have been blown out of the furnace somehow. A small box is on a table with a padlock unlocked off of the box, revealing a picture of his family with red Xs over the eyes. Time expires just as the group finishes. Victim's Last Known Whereabouts James, Lexi, Monroe, Ari, Zayn and Doris decide to visit Nico's last known whereabouts, his room. They find signs of a break-in, which leads them to their next finding. They spot a picture of Nico's family, with a message telling him to go to the living room if his family is to live. A stick with the number 13 burned into it is found right next to it. Deep footprints in the carpet tell the seven Nico made a quick flee. Morgue Shawn, Pabla and Andrew were the only guests who were willing to visit the morgue the first time. They automatically see how burned he is, but it well disappoints the trio. His neck is also revealed to be brutally snapped. A note is found in his hand, but is too charred to read. Some words recognized include 'come to... if..family lives.' Riddle Giles blindfolded the guests and guided them to a remote room, where only a torch provides light, then are all given branches to light. Giles then reads out the riddle, as follows: "You all stand wielding the key to homicide, If the area couldn't provide, here is a free ride, You will scatter and flee looking for answers, But always remember what is close and far can be all you are looking for, Use what's before you to find a lesser clue, Identify with it, and reveal what's true." While most guests flee away, Zayn and Toby stay and realize that the longest line tells them to just look closer. When looking at a sand-and-ball timer, they hear the noise of tribal dance, which fits with the bonfire pit. When they flee outside, they find 4 lit tiki torches surrounding a barren pit. By dabbling into the torch, they extinguish the torch itself, meaning only two others could find the clue. Using the light, the fire pit is revealed to have ash that spells "AREN'T YOU UNLUCKY?", as well as a "Start Here" arrow. By counting bricks, the team finds that the 13th is loose. Pulling it back reveals a key labelled "Roof Access". Using it to open a trapdoor, the guests find a huge system of pulleys and ropes, used to lift explosive and highly volatile coal from the coal bank #13. A rope is also found badly charred and barely intact near the chimney. Nearby is a plant book turned to misletoe, which bears a resemblance to the branches they hold. One fact mentioned is that Baldur in the Norse world died at the hands of a mistletoe arrow, making it unlucky. Winners, Losers and a Solution Toby won the first round of the Red Herring murders due to his amazing theory. This is the correct answer: The killer, before the other guests arrived, installed highly explosive/flammable coal into coal bank #13, beneath a loading pulley. They also set up a mistletoe with former number burned into it, as mistletoe is bad luck in Norse culture, as Nico knew. Nico fled in fear, where he found a picture of his family, a key and instructions to head to the living room if he wants his family to live. Nico hesitantly fled to the living room, where he used the key to open a second box, this one with another picture of his family with red Xs, as well as a Roof Access key and note telling him where to go.He went to the roof, where, at threat by killer, placed a loop of rope around his neck. Little did he know that it was attached to the coal in bank #13. The killer used the pulley to raise it onto the roof, where they used a second to lift it to a platform on the other side of the chimney. This dragged Nico Hycanithus to his doom, hanging him over the chimney. With time and weight, the platform for the special coal broke, dropping it and Nico into the fireplace, where a live match was. And we all know what happened then... Challenge Winner (s): Toby and Zayn Best Theory: Toby Spared: Andrew, James, Lexi, Monroe, Neveah, Samantha, Shawn, Pabla, Ari, Jesse and Zayn Scared: Jason, Lori, Doris and Teresa Thanks for Reading! 20:38, April 23, 2015 (UTC)Jacob Garofalo